A study had estimated that the total number of vehicles on the planet would surpass one billion sometime during 2010. Most will commute through every day traffic and engage in the imposed traffic signs, signals and rules.
In the United States, Washington, D.C., tops the list of most congested cities according to the study, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and San Jose. In the nation's capital, commuters spent an average of 82 hours of their year, nearly 1 percent of their time, in bumper-to-bumper traffic. In L.A., they spent about 80 hours, and in New York, around 74. During that time, drivers/operators tend to get distracted with other things to do, especially when waiting for the red light to turn green or when the vehicle in front of theirs starts moving.
One of the top reasons for traffic accidents is distracted driving. Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on the phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in the vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system; anything that takes the person's attention away from the task of safe driving. Distracted driving can be as simple as not paying full attention to the simplest road rules, signs and traffic lights. These distractions can, at best, create minor vehicle accidents such as “fender benders” that do not involve injuries to the drivers or passengers, and, at worst, threaten the vehicle occupant's life. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the 2016 passenger vehicle fatality rate totaled 23,714, which is the highest number since 2008. Passenger vehicles include passenger cars and light trucks. Distracted driving contributed to 3,450 fatalities in 2016, and 444 of those deaths were linked to cell phone use.
Another reason is road rage. The NHTSA and the Auto Vantage auto club show that aggressive driving and road rage are causing serious problems on our roads. Sixty-six percent of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving. Half of the drivers who are on the receiving end of an aggressive behavior, such as horn honking, a rude gesture, or tailgating, admit to responding with aggressive behavior themselves.
The authors of this work believe that new and “machine-decision-making” technologies such as self-driving cars will eventually enhance people's safety to a very high degree, with solutions to most of the vehicle's operation problems described above. However, these new technologies and regulations are still developing and might require years to spread to the public. Therefore, it is believed that property damage and the consequences to the people or, at worst, fatalities due to distracted vehicle operation will continue, at least until these new vehicle technologies and regulations are implemented.
Thus, there is a need for a solution on current vehicles to mitigate the hazards due to distracted driving and operating.